A Life of Nobility
by Pandalily45
Summary: Years after the Freedom Fighters have disbanded and are sent off to foster homes, Smellerbee escapes her new life, desperate for what should have been. Smellershot, onesided Tokka.


**Disclaimer: **This has been made purely for entertainment purposes, and is not meant for commercial gain. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters, places and concepts are copyright of Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

**Author's Note-** Another something I wrote when I was bored. It's set in Smellerbee's POV, and I added some Tokka for my friends.

* * *

I ran through the forest, pure rage pulsing through my veins. My fists clenched, manicured fingernails digging into moisturized palms.

I hated this life. This life of nobility. Those stuffy people forcing me to forget. To forget Longshot, and the others. They could call me "sweetie" and "honey" and..."Aki" all they wanted but I refused to let go of my name.

My real name.

Smellerbee.

And that was why I was running. I had had enough. I was done with them and their rules. I wanted out. And if they wouldn't let me go, I would fight for it. And that was exactly what I had done. I was fine up until the point when "Dad" started talking marriage. I'm only sixteen, and they wanted me to marry some stuffy-headed noble guy.

And they expect me to love him?

How absurd. I would never, _ever_ love someone like that. _Never._

I continued to sprint through the darkened forest, my thoughts more tangled than the branches above me. My lungs burned, my feet ached, but I kept going. There was no going back. Not this time.

My expensive silk dress cascaded behind me. It caught on a thorn bush, but I did not stop to free it. The hem tore and I snatched it up so they couldn't use it to track me.

Finally, I came to a stream and could not go on. I collapsed to my knees and panted, my face burning crimson. And then I did something I rarely ever did.

I cried.

I couldn't help myself. The sobs fought their way out of me like an army. I buried my face in my hands and trembled. Why had I done this? Why, if I knew I would never find Longshot or any of the others? I was cold, tired, hungry, and lost. And night was falling. I would be at the mercy of the creatures of the forest.

A twig snapped.

I looked up sharply and got to my feet. "W-who's there?" I called.

My answer was a loud, menacing roar.

A huge platypus-bear, the biggest one I had ever seen, stood on its hind legs before me, teeth bared and flashing in sunset light. It brought up a huge, clawed paw and swiped at me. I screamed at the top of my lungs as it barely missed my face. I had nothing to protect myself. This animal would kill me.

Suddenly, the beast lurched backward and let out a roar. This time, not of anger or rage, but pain. Then it fell forward, silent, a single arrow sticking out of its back.

I look upward as a figure leapt from a high tree branch to the forest floor, brandishing a bow and a sling of arrows, each identical to the one that had killed the bear. The handsome stranger approached me, his black eyes asking the question for him.

"Yes-yes I'm fine." I said, still slightly shaken, "Thank you." he nodded, then turned to the dead platypus-bear. He whipped out a knife and cut open the animal to clean out the meat.

"Let me help you with that." I offered.

He eyed me suspiciously before handing me a second knife.

We dug in, excising every scrap of meat from the bear and putting it in a knapsack. Thinking of how delicious fried platypus-bear meat tasted made my shrinking stomach growl with hunger. We finished quickly, leaving the scraps for the scavengers. I stood, wiping my bloodied hands on my tattered white silk gown with a smirk. The boy tied and sack close and grunted as he tried to heave it onto his shoulder. He succeeded, but quickly collapsed under the extreme weight of our dinner.

"Are you alright?" I cried, shoving the sack off my rescuer's body.

He held his side and clenched his teeth, but then relaxed and smiled up at me.

My heart skipped. That smile. It seemed so familiar. His eyes too...where had I seen them before? It must have been so long ago...

I shoved the thought to the back of my mind as I helped him up. We carried the meat together, which wasn't quite so hard. In fact, it was quite enjoyable. He was quiet, didn't even say a word. But his presence calmed me. I felt much less alone.

It wasn't long before we reached a small campsite. Three boys and a raven-haired girl emerged from their tents around a black fire pit. The girl also seemed slightly familiar...

"Where have you been?" cried one of the boys as we approached, "You've been gone for...hel-lo, what do we have here?"

I noticed him eyeing me, a sly grin on his face. One of the other boys whispered something to his friend, who snickered, not taking his eyes off me. I squirmed, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. What had I gotten myself into? The other boy took a step towards me, the dirty smile still on his face. I took a step back. This might end worse than the bear could have!

But the boy beside me dropped the sack and stood in front of me, his eyes blazing. He guarded me with his body, glaring at the other boy. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, that's enough Kyo. Geez, with your "noble upbringing" I would think you would act a little more kindly to a newcomer."

Kyo tried to defend himself. "Hey, I was just-"

"I know just what you were trying to do! Don't make me..."

"Okay! Okay, I'm done!" The boy held up his hands and he and his still snickering friends went back into their tent, and the girl left to get firewood. The boy who rescued me led me to an open spot around the fire and handed me some sticks and a piece of canvas cloth. When my tent was built, it was almost sundown and the girl had returned with the firewood. One of the other boys lit the fire and we cooked the meat on sticks. I relished every bite, remembering my former life as a Freedom Fighter and how we used to eat things like this every night and the taste never seemed to get old.

When the others had gone back to their tents for the night, the boy and I sat around the dying fire silently. I watched him as he skillfully made arrows, each one an exact copy of the others. It was mesmerizing.

"I want to thank you again for saving my life out there." I told him.

He shrugged. More silence. I hadn't heard him speak. Not once. This was definitely awkward. "_He must be selectively mute,"_ I thought, "_just like Longshot was..."_

I stood up to get firewood from the pile by a tree. Suddenly, I slipped and fell to the ground. My cheek scraped against a fallen branch.

The boy dropped his arrows and ran to help me up. He took my hand in his calloused ones and pulled me to my feet, a concerned look in his dark eyes.

"I'm-I'm okay." I assured him.

I lightly touched my stinging cheek, feeling something sticky and wet. I looked at my hand. Rat-monkeys. I was bleeding.

The boy put his other hand gently on my cheek. It stung but I didn't pull away. Something inside me sparked. I looked into his deep brown eyes and was struck with a feeling I had never felt before. I knew he felt it too, because suddenly our lips met, and that spark burst into a flame.

* * *

That night, I lay awake staring at the canvas above my head, my head and heart battling for the upper hand.

"_What's wrong with me?" _I thought frantically. "_Why do I feel like this? I used to be so tough! What happened? I'm so weak I even let some stranger kiss me! But for some reason he doesn't seem like a stranger. I feel like I know him...but where on earth would I know him from? Those black eyes and that killer smile just seem so familiar. I must be imagining things! You don't even know his name!_

_His name..."_

Suddenly I was wide awake. I needed to know his name. Something inside of me yearned to know who he was. I shoved off the blankets and crept out of the tent. The glowing orange and yellow embers of the fire were slowly dying, but they provided enough light for me to see the other tents. The flap to his was blown open by a gust of wind. Empty. Where had he gone? Then I noticed a light coming from inside one of the other tents. For a moment, I hesitated. What if it was one of those other guys? What if he tried something again? I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind and approached the tent.

"Who's there?" came an unafraid voice from inside. A girl's voice. It sounded familiar too. I pushed back the flap and stepped in. "Oh, it's you." she said, seemingly relieved. "Thank goodness it wasn't one of those guys. They freak me out. And they say they left a life of nobility too! Yeah, right! They certainly don't act like it. Hm, well I guess I have no room to talk. But anyway, have a seat. Why are you up so late?"

"I was going to ask you the same question." I told her and she laughed.

"Oh, I was just thinking." she pushed back he long, dark bangs, revealing a pair of teal eyes. Well they would be teal, except for that they were covered with a misty film. She was blind! My mouth dropped slightly open and her head snapped up.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, her sightless eyes inquisitive.

"You're...you're blind?" I stuttered. She made a face.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"It's just that...if you're blind, how did you know I was coming?"

She grinned. "I'm an Earthbender."

"You're a what?"

"An Earthbender. The world's only blind one too. I see by feeling the vibrations in the ground made by people and objects. Some see me and think I'm helpless, but trust me, I'm not! I used to fight Earthbending battles when I was twelve. I even trained the Avatar!"

I stared. "Wait a minute...you're Toph! I know you! I'm Smellerbee, remember? We met once, in Ba Sing Se. You know, when Jet was captured?"

Her eyes widened. "Smellerbee! Yeah! I remember! You were one of Jet's freedom fighters! But what happened? Why on earth are you wearing..._this_?" she fingered the hem of my tattered silk dress. After a pause, we spoke at the same time.

"A life of nobility." and we burst into laughter.

She grinned as the laughter died. "Soooo...you gotta boyfriend?" I stalled for a second, slightly taken aback by the sudden topic change, and afraid she had seen the kiss, but then I saw the quirky smile on her lips. "I can feel your heart rate soaring!"

I blushed furiously. "No...well yes...ummmm, kinda." I decided to turn her own question against her, before she started asking more. "Do you?"

She looked down, the blush now appearing on her cheeks as well. "Sorta. Do you...do you remember that guy that was with me at the lake?"

"You mean the avatar?"

"No, the other one. The tall one."

"Boomerang kid? Yeah, I remember him. Wait...you guys are together?

"Heh, I wish." I caught the slight disappointment in her tone. "I've had a huge crush on him since before the fall of Ba Sing Se. But he was dating Suki." she made a face as she spoke the name.

"And he's _still_ dating her?"

"Actually, I haven't seen him in a little over a year. I didn't ask last time I saw him either. So I don't know." she shrugged. "No biggie."

"Hm." There was a long pause. I forced myself to ask her the question I desperately wanted to hear the answer to.

"You know that guy who rescued me earlier?"

"Who...you mean Majo?" I nodded

"So, Majo's his name?"

"Well, his real name. But most people just call him Longshot."

My heart froze.

_Longshot?_

The whole world seemed to stop around me.

"Is something wrong?" Toph asked.

I didn't answer.

I ran.

I tore out of the campsite, tears in my eyes and emotions clashing.

_Longshot..._

How could this happen? I wanted to find him, but not like this! I never thought I could love him as someone more than a brother or a close friend. I thought I didn't love him like this. But I knew I did. I could run, but could not hide from this feeling. I felt trapped in my emotions. But weather this prison was one I wanted to be in or not, I still wasn't sure. So I kept running.

Branches and thorn bushes tore at my arms and legs, clawing at my bare skin, drawing blood. My make-up, applied professionally just the morning before, was streaming down my face, mixed with hot tears. But I didn't stop.

Finally, I came to the stream where...where_ Longshot_ had rescued me. Suddenly, I saw I figure sitting on a rock just a few feet away. I watched silently as he pulled out a bow and shot an arrow. It sang through the air before striking a tree trunk. Just as that arrow struck its target, he pulled out another and shot it just as swiftly. It whistled just like the first, and impaled the previous arrow on the tree.

Longshot let out a long, tired sigh. Suddenly, his head snapped up and he stared at me. Slowly, he stood and stepped into the moonlight.

"Longshot?" I called, my voice quavering, "Longshot...is-is it really you?" I watched his face, studying me silently, confusion written on it. Then his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "It's me..." I said "Smellerbee..." Longshot swallowed, his black eyes locked onto mine. He cautiously stepped forward and held me in his arms. They were much stronger than I remembered.

Then, in a gentle, rough voice, that I thought I never would hear, he spoke.

"It's me."


End file.
